To anyone who follows the yearly awards-show banter, it's no surprise that the Golden Globe TV nominations announced Thursday would leave many viewers scratching their heads.

You never know what you'll get from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the Golden Globes--except snubs and surprises. The group isn't really qualified to name the year's best in anything, except it's obvious bedazzlement by glitz, glamor and big-name celebrity.

Anyway, on with the snubs list.

I may not be into "Mad Men," but I would never deny that it's one of the best dramas on TV. Yet it was left off this year's list of nominees, which includes "Boardwalk Empire," "Downton Abbey," "Homeland" and, a surprise first-time nomination for "Breaking Bad." I say that's a surprise because the AMC series should have been nominated each year it aired, not just its final season.

HFPA chose to nominate Aaron Sorkin's self-indulgent, bombastic HBO series "The Newsroom" over "Mad Men" and several other more worthy choices.

FX's biker drama, "Sons of Anarchy," just completed its most watched and daring season, yet each year I'm appalled by every awards-giving organization's snubbing of the FX drama and its amazing actors, including should-be-nominated lead actor Charlie Hunnam. (Although last year the Globes did nominate star Katey Sagal.)

AMC's "The Walking Dead" is in the middle of its own blockbuster season both in viewership and creatively, yet was snubbed. It, FX's "Justified" and HBO's "Game of Thrones," a nominee in 2011, also were more deserving than "The Newsroom."

The comedy/musical category delivered an even crazier nominee in NBC's "Smash." I'm embarrassed to say that I gave the show, off it's excellent pilot, a four-star review. But I could not even finish the season after its quality plummeted.

So how did it get a nomination? Like I said, the silly folks at the HFPA are dazzled by glitz, and it had as much of that as ditz. I'm also not thrilled about the nomination for Showtime's "Episodes," although it's the kind of behind-the-Hollywood-scenes thing the HFPA loves.

Rounding out the nominees are perennial faves "The Big Bang Theory" and "Modern Family" along with HBO's much-lauded "Girls" from Lena Dunham.

Snubbed? NBC's "Parks and Recreation," FX's "Louie," Fox's "New Girl" and IFC's "Portlandia," a little show that I think is much more deserving of recognition than "Smash." (Actually, that list is a long one.)

One huge and happy surprise in the acting categories is the supporting actor nomination for Chicago native Mandy Patinkin for his outstanding work as CIA agent Saul Berenson on Showtime's "Homeland." He was overlooked last year by the Globes and this year by the Emmys.

This brings me to more Globes silliness. The HFPA doesn't care enough about the TV categories to split the supporting actor nominations properly. They inexplicably lump the comedy, drama, movies and everything together. That's why Pantinkin will compete against Max Greenfield of "New Girl" and Maggie Smith of "Downton Abbey" will face off against Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family." It makes no sense!

If they did the supporting categories properly, maybe nominations would have gone to snubbed actors such as Aaron Paul of "Breaking Bad," Jared Harris and John Slattery of "Mad Men," Peter Dinklage of "Game of Thrones," Norman Reedus of "The Walking Dead," Sagal and Maggie Siff of "Sons of Anarchy" and many others.

My final, random rant is in the miniseries or movie category. No "Sherlock" from PBS' "Masterpiece"! Kudos for nominating Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, but the miniseries deserves some recognition, perhaps over HBO's behind-the-scenes look at Alfred Hitchcock's creepiness "The Girl," which I found lacking.

The 70th Golden Globes are scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Jan. 13 on NBC and will be hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, both of whom earned (well-deserved) nominations Thursday.

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